Community

La Sweet Vida

Sweet Success

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases faced by low-income patients at Mission Arlington’s medical clinic. “We’ve found that most of the diabetic patients don’t know how to take care of themselves,” says Tillie Burgin, Mission Arlington’s executive director. “They don’t know what to eat, what not to eat.” But that’s changing thanks to a partnership between the Arlington agency and UT Arlington. Produced by students, the La Sweet Vida campaign uses brochures, videos, an app, and a website—lasweetvida.com—to explain how to recognize symptoms of diabetes and make the life changes to manage it. Funded by a $25,000 grant from the Ford Motor Company Fund, the project involved 34 students from eight disciplines mentored by nine professors through the University’s Center for Community Service Learning. For Keelie Barrow, left, a graduate student in urban affairs who served as project manager, the opportunity reinforced her desire to work in community service. “It was a phenomenal experience,” Barrow says. “I learned what I didn't know and then worked on gaining those skills.”